Growth of AlN Films on Silicon Substrates by Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

Polycrystalline aluminum nitride (AlN) films were deposited on Si (111) substrates by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method in an nitrogen (N-2) + argon (Ar) gas mixture. The effect of the preparation conditions-sputtering pressure (p), sputtering power (w), gas mixture (Ar/N-2) and post-deposition annealing treatment -on the properties of AlN films were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD). Highly c-axis oriented AlN films were obtained with optimized growth parameters: p=0.3Pa, w=400w and Ar/N-2=2.